Sounders down Portland on penalty kicks

Grinding it out on Wednesday night in Portland, the Sounders came away with a 1-1 (4-3 on penalty kicks) win to advance to the quarterfinals of the U.S. Open Cup, a tournament Seattle won last season.

The Sounders will host the L.A. Galaxy next Wednesday at 7 p.m. at Starfire Sports Complex in Tukwila for the right to go to the semifinals.

It wasn’t easy nor was it pretty. An early goal by Nate Jaqua was equalized by Portland’s Bright Dike late in the first half. From there, few scoring chances materialized leading to the penalty showdown.

The penalties in front of the Timbers Army played out as such:

Portland’s Ryan Pore was stopped by Kasey Keller to open things. A huge diving save by Keller to his right immediately shifted the advantage to Seattle.

Nate Sturgis was first up for the Sounders. He went bottom left for the 1-0 lead. Portland goalkeeper Steve Cronin guessed correctly, but could not get there.

Portland’s Doug DeMartin scored down the middle to make it 1-1.

Steve Zakuani sneaked it underneath Cronin who had guessed right. The Sounders led 2-1.

Portland’s Mamadou Danso scored to the right to even things again at 2-2.

Portland’s Ross Smith lined up and was stopped by Keller who guess correctly and was all over it.

Patrick Ianni then failed beat Cronin for the 4-2 penalty kick win. He hit the crossbar to keep things 3-2.

Portland’s Rodrigo Lopez was in a must-score situation and did. All tied again, 3-3.

Zach Scott then ended it with a shot to the right.

Like last year against Portland, the Sounders were able to take an early lead. An engaging buildup from Michael Seamon led to Jaqua’s first goal since last season.

Seamon carried through midfield and sent the ball out wide to Miguel Montano. The young Colombian’s cross was too long, but Sanna Nyassi did well to get on the back end of it and volley the ball back to the middle.

That’s where the Sounders found something that has been missing all season. Jaqua was able to elevate and head the ball into the left side of the net for the lead 13 minutes in.

Though a poor clearance later in the half would cost the Sounders as it has several times this season.

Tyson Wahl did not get the ball out of the box in the 38th minute, allowing Portland mighty mite Dike to eventually work around Taylor Graham and shovel a shot past the diving Kasey Keller.

The Sounders controlled the run of play in the second half until Graham was forced to make a quality slide tackle to stop the breaking Dike in the 87th minute.

The late substitutions of Montero and Zakuani showed Sounders coach Sigi Schmid was hoping to steal a late goal in Portland. It didn’t happen. Overtime.

Graham and Dike tangled again in the 100th minute. Graham chopped down the Timbers’ driving forward, resulting in his second yellow of the night. Graham was dismissed. The free kick just outside the box was launched into the wall. They played on, though Seattle would do so with just 10 men.

Portland controlled the overtime sessions without finding the final strike.

A disappointing result for the Timbers, a much needed boost for the Sounders who played a lineup of mostly reserves.